Reel container



O 2 1 HIDEOAMATSU ETAL 3,348,668

REEL CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1965 m m n E 5 5mm zflE m m Oct. 24, 1967 HIDEO AMATSU ETAL 3,348,658

' REEL CONTAINER Filed Sept. 1s, 1965 v I 2 Sheets-Shed 2 1112211751 5. Hidao Amal'su. Han/[r0 Esas/u'. MM W 4/044 9 W United States Patent 3,348,668 REEL CONTAINER Hideo Amatsu, Tokyo, and Hanjiro Esashi, Miyagi-ken, Japan, assignors to Sony Corporation, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, a corporation of Japan Filed Sept. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 486,948 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-52) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Container for magnetic tape reels and the like including an enclosure with a front wall hinged at the bottom to provide an access door for the container, the container having a latch at the top of the front wall for holding the door closed, and internal ribs in said container holding a reel in an over center position whereby opening of said door permits said reel to roll forward into an accessible position.

The present invention relates to an improved reel container, particularly adapted for the storage of magnetic tape reels.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a lightweight container for storing a reel, in which the reel is readily accessible from within the'container by the mere touch of a button.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reel container composed of a synthetic resinous material which is economical and easy to fabricate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reel container which can be fabricated as an integral molding from plastic material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reel container which can be stacked vertically alongside other reel containers of this type so that each individual reel is readily accessible by the user.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reel container which snugly holds the reel therein protecting it against damage due to mechanical shock.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved reel container in which the opening of the container automatically serves to at least partially eject the reel contained therein.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the attached sheets of drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a reel container according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the reel container illustrating the positions of the reel both in the open and closed positions of the container;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a latch mechanism which can be employed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the integral molding which forms the reel container of the present invention, in its developed state; and

FIGURE 5 is a view in perspective illustrating the manner in which reel containers of varying size can be accommodated on a suitable container.

As shown in the drawings:

In FIGURE 1, reference numeral indicates generally a reel container according to the present invention, said reel container including opposed side wall portions 11 and 12 separated by a bottom wall portion 13. An excess door is provided by a hingedly supported front wall 14. The front wall 14 may include a slot 16 for receiving a paper card 17 or the like on which markings can be placed, identifying the contents of the container.

3,348,668 Patented Get. 24, 1967 ice I The structure of the reel container 10 can best be described in conjunction with the developed view of FIG- URE 4. The reel container 10 is preferably made as an integral molding from a synthetic resin material having integral or living hinge properties, such as polypropylene. The blank from which the container is formed has the two side walls 11 and 12 spaced from the bottom wall 13 by notches or grooves 18 and 19 which provide an integral hinge between the side wall portions and the bottom wall 13. An upstanding integral flange portion 21 is provided about two sides of the side wall portion 12 to serve as a closure for the top and rear of the finished container, the flange portion 21 and the base wall 13 defining the edge walls which in combination with the side walls 11 and 12 form an open ended container for a reel.

The front wall 14 constitutes an extension of the bottom wall 13 and is separated therefrom by means of a notch or groove 22 which provides another integral hinge between the wall portions. The front wall 14 has a pair of parallel rail portions 23 and 24 having angularly shaped edge surfaces 26 and 27 which are arranged to be received in complementally shaped notches 28 and 29 formed in the side walls 12 and 11 respectively. The rail portions 23 and 24 are strengthened by the provision of strengthening ribs 31, 32, 33 and 34 in spaced relation as best illustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawings.

The front wall 14 also carries a latch means consisting of a relatively flexible arm portion 36 carrying a triangularly shaped latch member 37 at the outer extremity thereof. As best illustrated in FIGURE 3, the wall 21 is formed with a keeper 38 also of triangular shape, whereby the closing of the front wall 14 against the remainder of the container serves to engage the latch member 37 behind the keeper 38, preventing the front wall 14, which serves as the access door for the container, from opening. The latch member is disengaged by the operation of an operating button 41 having a headed portion 42, and a shank portion 43 extending through an aperture 44 formed in the wall 21. An operating nub 46 extends from the shank portion 43, and is arranged to disengage the latch 37 from the keeper 38 by downward movement of the button 41, as illustrated in the dotted outline showing of FIGURE 3.

To keep the side walls of the container tightly engaged, there may be provided a hollow cylindrical post 48 on the side wall 12 which receives a pin 49 disposed on the interior of the side wall 11 in tight frictional engagement when the blank of FIGURE 4 is folded into the finished container.

The side wall 12 has an arcuately extending rib 51, and the side wall 11 has a similar arcuately extending rib 52, the heights of the ribs 51 and 52 being less than /2 the width of the edge wall 13, so that the ribs 51 and 52 do not abut when the container is closed. The side walls 11 and 12 are also provided with additional arcuate rib portions 53 and 54 respectively which are spaced from the ribs 51 and 52, but lie on the same radius of curvature as the ribs 51 and 52.The ribs 51 to 54 inclusive thereby provide a track, as best illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, which receives a reel 56 on which the magnetic tape is wound. Latching of the front wall 14 to the remainder of the container urges the reel 56 to ride up on the track provided by the ribs 51 to 54 when the container is closed. However, since the center of gravity of the reel 56 is forward of the center of curvature of the ribs, unlatching of the front wall 14 causes the reel 56 to roll off the track provided by the ribs 51 to 54 inclusive, and extend through the opening in the container, as illustrated by the solid line showing of FIGURE 2. Thus, the reel is partially removed from the container by the mere expedient of pushing the operating button 41 andunlatching the access door.

When the reel 56'is received within the container with the front wall 14 latched thereto, the ribs 51 to 54 hold the reel 56 snugly within the container, and thereby minimize the possibility of damage due to mechanical shock.

In the closed condition, the container is arranged to support the reel 56 in an upright position as best illustrated in FIGURE 5 of the drawings. This figure shows a pair of reel containers 61 and 62 proportioned to receive reels of varying size as, for example, a 7 inch reel in container 61, and a 5 inch reel in container 62. In order to hold the containers vertically upright, there is provided a slot 63 in the bottom wall 13, as illustrated in FIGURE 2 whereby a series of such containers can be vertically aligned by engaging the slots in said containers with a guide rod 64 extneding from a container stand 66.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the reel container of the present invention provides an inexpensive but highly practical enclosure for magnetic tape reels and the like. The container is arranged to support the reel in vertical alignment, and a plurality of such containers can be stacked together in the manner of books on a bookshelf for easy access. With the particular structural features of the present invention, the reel container can be opened simply by pressing a button, whereupon the access door is unlatched and the reel is rolled forward out of the container so that the user has the reel immediately at his finger tips.

It should be evident that various modifications can be 4 made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A reel container comprising an integral molding having opposed side walls and edge Walls therebetween, releasable latch means between said side walls, a front wall hingedly secured at its bottom edge between said side walls and engageable with said latch means to form a closure for said container, and opposed arcuate ribs within said container providing a track for receiving a reel in an oif center position whereby said reel is free to roll forward when said front wall is unlatched.

2. The container of claim 1 in which said front wall constitutes an integral extension of one of said edge walls.

3. The container of claim 1 in which said container is composed of a synthetic resin having integral hinge properties.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,763,524 9/1956 Beers 312-13 3,051,537 8/1962 Diehl et a1. 312-20 3,107,783 10/1963 Corey et al 220-31 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,283 7/ 1922 Great Britain.

THERON CONDON, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, IR.,' Examiner. 

1. A REEL CONTAINER COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL MOLDING HAVING OPPOSED SIDE WALLS AND EDGE WALLS THEREBETWEEN, RELEASABLE LATCH MEANS BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS, A FRONT WALL HINGEDLY SECURED AT ITS BOTTOM EDGE BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID LATCH MEANS TO FORM A CLOSURE FOR SAID CONTAINER, AND OPPOSED ARCUATE RIBS WITHIN SAID CONTAINER PROVIDING A TRACK FOR RECEIVING A 